Parker Palmer — again, this guy is SO awesome — talks about how instead of doing what we ought to be doing in the world we need to turn towards this:

“… an ethic that grew up from my natural giftedness and my place in the ecosystem of my own life, where I could give what grew in me. When you give what grows then that crop replenishes itself, you don’t end up in that depletion of having too little to live on psychologically, spiritually, etc.”

There are things in you that naturally grow. Think of it like a crop of some kind. You planted wheat because wheat sells well. “I ought to plant some wheat,” you think to yourself. But what really grows well in you is…

… I don’t know, squash or something. I’m not a farmer.

But you get the metaphor! If you’re feeling burnt out right now this metaphor should be grabbing you by the collar and shaking you around… in a “not violating your own nature” kind of way.

If you continue to give what does not naturally grow, you will burn out. That’s what burnout is, when you give what you do not possess.

It’s not pushing too hard…

It’s not giving too much…

It’s giving what you don’t possess.

Instead, those of you who want to pursue abundant, creative, entrepreneurial life… you must give what grows.

Give. What. Grows.

Take This

Here, take this. Put out your hands I’m going to give you something.

Ready?

Here.

It’s your responsibility.

This is your responsibility, to give what grows. It is no one else’s but yours. Your mother can’t do this for you. Neither can we at Fizzle. This is yours now.

And you can do this. If there’s ANYTHING you’re amazing at, it’s giving what grows naturally inside you.

Now, I know this means you probably have some work to figure out exactly what it is that grows in you. Which means you really need the entrepreneurial journaling course coming out in the Fizzle course library soon… because, yea, “know thyself” is still the operating imperative if you want to have the life YOU want.

But you got this. It’s yours alone now. And you don’t have to be alone with it. Inside of Fizzle, or in your family, or in a mastermind group, you can include others in your new mantra: give what grows.

And you can remind yourself every morning: today I am giving what grows.

And you can ask your spouse or your pupper: will you remind me to give what grows? Because I have too much wheat or something.

You get the metaphor!

Or you could share it on social networks with #givewhatgrows. (Note: this won’t help your heart much, but it might help others find this article. If it’s helped you, it’ll help others.)

Thanks for reading. Give what grows. All of us at Fizzle will be working to do the same.

The Top 10 Mistakes in Online Business

Every week we talk with entrepreneurs. We talk about what’s working and what isn’t. We talk about successes and failures. We spend time with complete newbies, seasoned veterans, and everything in between.

One topic that comes up over and over again with both groups is mistakes made in starting businesses. Newbies love to learn about mistakes so they can avoid them. Veterans love to talk about what they wish they had known when starting out.

These conversations have been fascinating, so we compiled a list of the 10 mistakes we hear most often into a nifty lil' guide.

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